To the forest we go
by ilanitaliaXD
Summary: lucy goes to the forest after escaping from her house. but when she fall into a hole she meet two strange creatures. my take on what would have happened if igneel wasn't inside natsu to keep him from becoming a dragon. i don't fairy tail hiro mashima does


Lucy, a fifteen year old teenager with shoulder-length blond hair and brown eyes was wondering around the gardens, bored out of her mind when she had the idea to go to the forest in the Heartfilia's land. She read so much about them in her books and if she wanted to write about the forest as well she has to visit one. But since her father would probably forbid her and even go as far as lock her up, she had decided to sneak out at night. With that plan in mind, she acted extra nice all to everyone all day. She didn't even complain when her father fetched her for another long speech about money and responsibilities, resorting to daydreaming about her upcoming adventures in the forest.

* * *

Finally, it was nighttime and Lucy was lying in her bed, waiting for everyone to fall asleep, already I her most comfortable attire consisting of long black tights with a black skirt over them, long sleeved dark blue shirt with a lighter blue jacket she had borrowed from one of the servants and closed shoes. She readied a small bag with bottles of water she managed to convince one of the staff to bring along with food she stole from her dinner (including a knife for protection).

She smiled giddily, body tense from excitement and slight nervousness. After all, the forest can be quite dangerous at night. She could get hurt and even killed, but that thought had only served to make her more excited.

She could feel her heart pound heavily and so loudly in her chest that she was scared that everyone in the mansion could hear it. She can't let anyone interfere and take that chance for an adventure away from her.

* * *

After what seemed forever, the clock struck midnight and Lucy nearly shot out of the bed, stumbling a bit before recovering and snatching the bag from underneath her desk. She then remembered that she needs a flashlight and groaned in frustration. She looked around and delightedly spotted her glowing desk light lacrima and took it, stuffing it into her bag. She would not need it until she reaches the forest.

It's now or never, thought the blonde teenager and with a deep breath, pushed up the window and climbed out of it, gingerly reaching for the tree positioned just outside her room (her request five years ago paid off, it seems). She braced herself and flung her body at the tree, managing to land on a thick branch (which still knocked her breath out). After she rested for a bit, she trekked down the branches until she placed both legs safely on the ground.

It felt divine to be outside the house and be truly 'out' without her father's constant looming presence. But she cannot stay here; the forest is waiting for her. Lucy adjusted her bag on her shoulders and started jogging to the gates. She climbed over them and started running in the open field.

* * *

The journey to the forest was exciting and was filling her with so much joy and giddiness that she had nearly forgotten that she has to return to the mansion before breakfast or she would be punished. But before the dark thoughts could crawl back, she had reached the forest. It was enormous and very dark, almost sinister and suddenly Lucy didn't feel so sure about entering it. She was about to turn back when she heard something akin to a cry. It sounded like a mix between a beast's wail and a human's sob. Lucy couldn't help but feel a need to comfort the source of the cry. She took out her lamp and lit it at minimum so it would not startle the creature and slowly entered the forest.

At first, she couldn't make out anything but rows of trees, but then the cry returned ten-fold and Lucy quickened her tempo and headed towards the voice. She started seeing broken and burnt branches, and even the leaves on the ground were completely burned, crunching when she stepped on them. Lucy regretted once again her carelessness, but the creature sounded in pain and she couldn't abandon it even if the creature would turn out to be truly dangerous.

The blond was so deep in her thoughts that when the ground disappeared under her feet, she only had a millisecond to realize that fact before was falling into the darkness, screaming her lungs out. She closed her eyes and prayed for a quick death when she landed on something soft and another cry was heard, nearly splitting her ears off. Lucy could only squeak when she had realized she had fallen on the creature. "I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed and scurried to get off of it. She then felt two tiny arms lift her up and she started struggling, "Let me go!"

"Stop that!" A high pitched voice made her freeze and the arms placed the blonde a good distance from where she had landed. She looked up to find the source of the voice only to notice that it was too dark to see and that she had lost her lacrima. "Um… who are you?" She asked hesitantly. "Do you have any light?" It was silent for a long moment before a flame flickered out of nowhere and Lucy was treated to the most bizarre scene she had ever seen;

In front of her there were two… _animals?_ One was a floating cat… a blue furred cat with wings. She was obviously dreaming or at least losing her mind. She turned nervously to the source of her predicament. It had a human shape but its left arm was covered in blood red scales and big black claws that replaced its nails rested on the floor. The body under the waist was covered as well and was a hybrid between a big lizard and a human's legs. The only things that were untouched by scales were the right arm which had a red tattoo of a fairy with a tail on the shoulder and from the waist up. Its torso was bare and she could make out injuries that seemed fresh and noted that it probably was in great pain and that her fall probably hadn't helped them. She bit her lip and looked at its face, noticing a scar on the neck, and was surprised to see a childish face with blank black eyes stare at her. It had spiky salmon-pink colored hair that was matted with dirt and blood and two small horns peaked from it. At first she was nervous and almost scared, but the more she looked at it, the more she realized that it was it that was wary, not her.

"Hello there," She extended her hand to him. "My name is Lucy and I heard you so I came to help." She smiled reassuringly and the creature relaxed slightly although it still seemed that he was suspicious of her. "I did not come here to harm you. I'm sorry for falling on you."

"Natsu…" The cat suddenly spoke with that high-pitched voice she heard before and Lucy had to bite down a shocked scream. Not only was it a blue, flying cat, it was a _**talking**__,_ blue, flying cat! The cat ignored her and looked at the creature pleadingly. "Please, Natsu. We have been stuck here for two days already with no fish or fire and you're still hurt." It seemed that the cat was on the brink of a breakdown. The creature stared at the cat then at Lucy, and then he blinked and bent his nose to her hand. She held her breath as he smelled it, is he going to attack her? But it only huffed and uncurled from his position. "…Happy…" The gruff voice surprised her, it can talk?

"You can talk?" She blurted and the cat looked at her like she fell from space. "Of course Natsu can talk. Weirdo."

He just called her a weirdo. A talking, blue, flying cat just called her weird, she thought annoyingly. She huffed and turned to the creature, forcing a smile. "I'm sorry. What is your name?" It looked at her then at the cat again, who smiled widely. "_…Natsu… This is Happy_." Lucy smiled at that, so it had manners it seems.

"What happened to you?" Natsu stiffened, but Happy (nice to finally be able to put names to their faces) flew to its head and patted Natsu's head.

"_I… I'm a Dragon Slayer…_" It breathed deeply, the talking taking its toll on it. "_But… used too much… and now I'm becoming… a dragon…_" Natsu's head fell on the floor and it started coughing. Lucy was alerted and quickly took out a bottle from her bag and handed it to Happy. The cat quickly opened it and brought the bottle to Natsu. "Natsu, you need to drink." The creature heaved and its human hand reached for the bottle, bruised fingers closing over the plastic surface and putting the opening in its mouth, slowly drinking the contents, stopping to breathe or to cough. Lucy was extremely worried for the creature; what had happened to it to bring it to such a state? What does it mean by becoming a dragon? Natsu seems in so much pain and Lucy can't help him.

"Thanks…" Natsu mumbled, "Lucy…"

"You're welcome," She smiled. She then pointed to the symbol. "What does that mean?" Happy and Natsu seemed to perk up. The cat happily explained, "This is Fairy Tail's symbol."

"Fairy Tail?!" Lucy gasped in awe; Fairy Tail is one of the most famous mage guilds in the whole kingdom of Fiore! Well… infamous guild would be more correct. The guild was rumored to singlehandedly destroy cities while completing missions. The most famous mages there are the Titania and the Salamander! She always dreamed of meeting them!

"Aye. We're Fairy Tail's mages."

"That's amazing! I've been dreaming for a long time to join Fairy Tail! Wait… if you're a part of that guild… do you know Titania and Salamander?" She asked excitedly. Natsu and Happy started chuckling, the creature stopping for coughing. Lucy puffed her cheeks, insulted. "What is so funny?"

"Lucy," Happy poked Natsu's head. "The Salamander is a fire dragon slayer."

"Like Natsu?" The duo cracked up again. "**What?**" She bellowed and the creature shrunk a bit and she took a deep breath to relax herself. She didn't want to scare them off.

"It's Natsu. Lucy is slow," Happy teased her. It took her a moment to understand what he said, then her jaw fell open in shock, Natsu is _the Salamander_? "But-but—" She had imagined someone more… human.

"_I'm… human, Lucy,_" Natsu rolled his eyes. At Lucy's wide eyes he chuckled. "_And I'm not… a mind reader… you're too easy to figure out…_" A growl echoed in the pit and Lucy jumped, ready for something to attack them, but Natsu only held his stomach and whined, "_Hungry…_"

"Oh." The blonde rummaged through her bag's contents and fished out bread, some meat in protective shield and two apples. "Would that suffice?" Natsu's hand snatched the food and started devouring, almost inhaling it. "Whoa! Slow down or you'll choke." Natsu glared at her, but slowed down and gave Happy some of the bread. "_Thanks…_"

"Anytime, just warn me beforehand next time. I almost had a heart attack from your rumbling stomach," The girl chuckled. She then looked up and noticed to her horror that the sky becoming brighter. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Happy mumbled, munching on the bread idly.

"I must return home before my father wakes up or I'll be severely punished," She shook in fear. Natsu's eyes narrowed and he attempted to get up only to fall back and cry in pain. The blonde covered her ears. "Don't move, Natsu! You're hurt!" Natsu ignored her and used the wall of the pit to slowly get up and walk toward her. "_Must… protect… friends…_" He coughed. "You idiot," She said fondly. She quickly stood up and took a hold of Natsu's human shoulder, noticing for the first time the scaly tail dragging behind him. Is turning to a dragon is what causing the pain? "Natsu, we need to find a way to get you out of here," She looked at Happy. "Can you carry him?"

"Aye! But Natsu is too hurt. That's why we stayed here." Happy looked down but Natsu patted the cat's head and shook his, making the cat perk up and smile. "_Happy is my… best partner…_" Natsu said in one breath and burst into a fit of coughs that wrecked his entire body and Lucy was terrified to see blood drizzle from his lips. "We need to get you to a doctor!" She bit her lip. She never saw this much blood and it made her sick. "Happy! Carry Natsu outside right now!" The cat nodded and gently wrapped his tail around the boy's torso and slowly they ventured upwards, trying to ignore Natsu's cries and struggling, tears falling from his eyes.

After what seemed to be eternity, Happy softly placed Natsu by one of the oak trees and quickly flew down to bring Lucy up as well. She thanked him and rushed to the panting Salamander. "Natsu?" She received a groan and exhaled in relief. "Natsu, I need to ask you something important, okay?" Another groan. "Who hurt you like that? I don't quite understand or comprehend that fact that you're changing into a dragon, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't the cause for your injuries. So, who did it?" Natsu's jet black orbs seemed to lose their brightness once again and his human hand clenched into a fist. "_I can't… Happy…_" He almost pleaded and she was in awe since she got the feeling that the Salamander does not plead. The cat shook his head and Natsu growled, putting his fist over his eyes. "_Lucy…_**_go home_**…" Said teen huffed and crossed her arms for a moment before giving up and letting out a sigh. She then stood up and dusted her clothes. "Fine, have it your way. We have a long space to cover and time is short."

"What do you mean?"

"You're coming home with me," Lucy had a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

"… _EH?!_"

* * *

Two hours and a very disgruntled Salamander later, they had reached the mansion. Lucy was about to pass Natsu to Happy to get over the gates when she felt the mage stiffen. She looked at him worryingly only to see him stuttering. "What's wrong?"

"_You-you're a princess?!_" He coughed, but comically saluted her. She pouted, worried that he would change his behavior towards her but then remembered that it's Natsu, a block headed idiot, so she smiled at him. "Actually, the forest where we met is part of the Heartfilia's land." Natsu paled and Happy was going crazy, yelling about Natsu being taken down. "Be quiet or we'll get caught!" She smacked the cat's head and flicked Natsu's forehead. Happy then wailed about how Lucy was mistreating him but quieted down when met with her death glare.

They flew over the gates and quietly made their way to an abandoned hall and to a secret room only Lucy and her most trusted maid know about. She made this room when her father forbade her from practicing magic, and she was really glad for another well timed decision. She laid Natsu on the bed and told him that she would come back soon. The salmon-haired mage nodded and Happy quickly brought Lucy to her room's window.

"Thanks, Lucy," Happy said. "Natsu was really in a bad shape before you came and saved him."

"I'll always protect my friends," The girl smiled at the cat. Happy grinned widely and rushed to Natsu's side. She then changed into her pajamas and got into her bed, falling asleep the minute her head touched the pillow.

That certainly was an interesting night.

* * *

How could she have forgotten about them?! Lucy was sitting by her desk when Happy crashed into the room, eyes wide and breath quick.

"What's wrong?" The blonde smacked herself. She had promised to return soon but when she woke up she had thought that everything was a dream until Happy came.

"Natsu is losing too much blood!" With that, Lucy left everything and rushed to her most trusted maid's room.

"Princess?" Shelly asked in concern as the blonde barged into her room with a wild look. Shelly was a chubby dark-haired teenager that had been working at the Heartfilia's mansion for five years as Lucy's personal maid. She is kind hearted but insecure and even though she is pretty she thinks that her chubbiness is an ugly feature.

"I need your healing spells right now." Shelly was also a professional healer and was the one to treat Lucy if she did something stupid. The maid followed her mistress obediently down to the secret room. But before they entered, the blonde turned to Shelly. "Don't… scream, okay?" Before the maid could answer, Lucy opened the door and Shelly was faced with a monster.

"KYA—" Lucy's hand was the only thing keeping the maid from screaming and alerting the entire staff. "_Shelly!_" Lucy hissed. "I told you not to scream, and no, Natsu is **not** a monster. He's a human." Shelly gave her a skeptical stare but nodded. The blonde smiled and removed her hand, turning to look into the room and gasped.

Natsu was sprawled on the bed, the injuries much more apparent now than at night and blood seeped deeply into the sheets, making him almost swim in it. The scales spread to his chest and the horns grew and curled. But the worst was his face – the black shining eyes dimmed and seemed almost… animalistic.

"Natsu, relax," She said as she slowly entered the room with Shelly hiding behind her. Happy flew to Natsu and the mage visibly relaxed and his eyes softened. Lucy kneeled by him and placed a hand on his human forehand and nodded to Shelly. The maid gulped and kneeled as well, her frightened eyes scanning the injuries, a small gasp leaving her mouth.

"Shelly?"

"How is he even alive?" She blurted. "That kind of an injury should have killed him in mere hours from blood loss alone. What happened?"

"Not now!" The cat exclaimed. "Save him!"

""O-okay," Shelly place both hands on Natsu's torso. The boy tensed and snarled at the girls. Lucy squeezed the human hand. "Its okay, Natsu. Shelly is only trying to help you. Please calm down. How long is it going to take, Shelly?"

"It's very deep and I need to speed up his blood regeneration," The maid said, face scrunched in concentration. "Its body is too confusing for me to know. What is it?"

"Natsu is a he. Shelly."

"He's a half lizard, princess," She said in hysteria. Lucy didn't have a counter for that so she sat down and sent Happy a silent apology. The cat simply shrugged, slightly amused despite the circumstances. Then she heard him mumble something to himself and sniggering, and she immediately knew it wasn't anything pleasant.

* * *

The treatment took half an hour and Shelly collapsed the minute she deemed Natsu out of danger. Lucy gratefully placed the maid on the couch and covered her with a blanket. Natsu was unconscious as well and the wounds were mid-way healed but the bleeding stopped. Lucy went out to bring wet cloths and food with Happy keeping an eye on the duo. The girl managed to avoid the staff and came back bearing a bowl of water, several cloths, two plates of last night's dinner and a big bottle of water. Happy's mouth watered at the big fish on the plates but pouted when he realized that they were cooked. Lucy chuckled and noted to herself to bring a fresh fish next time, to thank him.

She sat by the bed and started wiping the blood off. "Happy, can you lift him?" Happy complied and Lucy took off the covers. She didn't care about the mattress getting dirty as long as the mage would have a soft place to sleep on. Happy placed Natsu back on the bed and floated to Lucy and landed on her head. The girl had a moment of annoyance until she realized that the feline had fallen asleep. She shrugged and proceeded to clean and bandage the injured mage which afterwards she fell asleep on the chair, feeling truly exhausted physically for the first time.

* * *

Lucy was shaken awake by the frantic maid later in the afternoon. The disgruntled girl rubbed her eyes and yawned. "What is it, Shelly?" She didn't want to wake up.

"The master wishes to speak to you and he seems very angry." That did it. Lucy's eyes shot open and she jumped from her chair, ignoring Happy's yelp as he fell to the floor, and rushed out of the room. Shelly cast one look at the felines and closed the door, activating the hidden spell.

* * *

"What is it, father?" Lucy asked her father cautiously. Jude Heartfilia, a tall, blond haired stern looking man was standing by the window, facing away from his daughter. She didn't like it – not only did he call her twice in the same week, but he also seemed angry about something. Had her escape been discovered? If so, they could find Natsu and Happy and hurt them. She won't let him touch them even if it would mean losing what little of freedom she still had.

"I've been getting reports about a monster roaming the western forest. Until they get rid of it, you will not leave the mansion's grounds. Understood?" Lucy wanted to laugh, how is it any different than the usual? She curtsied to him. "I understand father. I will now—"

"I'm not finished." Jude's eyes hardened. "That means that you are not to leave the room at the evening. You'll have a guard with you at any given moment and I want you to focus on your studies. Meals would be delivered to your room and only for an hour after tea would you be allowed to go outside. Is _that_ understood?" He commanded.

Lucy's body started shaking in anger but she curtsied to him and hurryingly left the study room. The second she closed the door behind her, she ran to the secret room and fell the couch, sobbing. How could he!? She barely had any time for herself anyways and now she didn't have even that. A scaly hand landed on her head and started petting it. Lucy looked up with red eyes to see Natsu look at her worryingly, the animalistic eyes replaced by warm eyes. She sniffed and slowly moved to the bed, mismatched arms wrapping around her and brought her closer to his chest. Lucy relaxed; he felt really warm and comforting. So this is Natsu's real self, she smiled and closed her eyes, surrounding herself to the warm comfort, and let her tears fall out.

* * *

After a while, the tears dried and Lucy felt spent and empty. "Lucy?" She heard Happy ask. She turned to the cat and shook her head. "My father had banned me from leaving this house. Apparently there's a monster in the western forest. I won't have any freedom anymore. I'm just so angry and frustrated and…"

"Betrayed…" The girl's eyes widened and shot up to Natsu, his eyes were pained.

"How?"

"To people… I'm a monster," Natsu's voice seemed stronger than last night, but Lucy only realized that he hated this form. "I love dragons. My… my dad was one. Igneel."

"You were raised by dragons?! Dragons exist?!" Lucy couldn't believe him. Dragons just don't exist. Natsu nodded, eyes narrowed, knowing what she was thinking. "Igneel is real. The citizens of Mangolia… fear them. When I started changing, they pleaded with the council to send me away. I… was banished."

"That's terrible!" Lucy was shocked. How could the? What about Fairy Tail then?

"Gramps… tried to stop them, but…" His eyes closed and the arms around Lucy tightened. "To Mangolia, I was a monster…"

"Natsu," Lucy placed a hand on the mage's cheek. "You're not a monster. If Igneel could show such compassion despite being a dragon, dragons can't be that bad." She pulled herself from the warm arms and smiled. Natsu sat up, head cocked to the side. "Lucy?"

"Nice to meet you," The girl chuckled and extended her hand to the boy. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia. I'm fifteen years old and a celestial mage, that means I can summon spirits from another dimension with special keys. I hope I can be friends with you." Natsu blinked and smirked at her in amusement. "You're weird."

"Just do it." A vein throbbed on her temple. Natsu shivered and shook her hand shakily. "Um… I'm Natsu Dragneel, sixteen… and I'm a fire dragon slayer. Um… nice to meet you, too?"

"Hey, don't leave me out!" The duo turned to look at the cat. "I'm Happy! I'm four and have magical wings! " Happy placed his hand on theirs. Natsu and Lucy looked at each other and started laughing loudly. The cat joined their laughter. Lucy was overwhelmed with emotions and tears started falling again and she sniffled.

"What's wrong, Lucy?"

"Heh, nothing," she wiped her tears. "I'm just so happy."

Natsu and Happy looked at her strangely. "You're weird."

"I know," She laughed. Even with her freedom taken, even with having nothing to be joyous about, that day was one of the best she'd ever had.

* * *

The next week was one of her happiest – she would go after breakfast to the hidden room and talk to Natsu and Happy about anything that they wanted. She read them her stories and Natsu told her about his adventures at the guild and the story about Happy's birth. Happy shared his hobby of eating fish and jokes about Lucy liking Natsu and the boys would laugh at Lucy's red angry face. Lucy learned more about Natsu's goofy side and even his innocent side.

But as the days progressed, the scales on Natsu's body spread and now even his human hand was a dark red tint. The boy didn't show it, but the transformation pained him badly. It probably was agony from what she saw when he was sleeping. The blonde wished she knew how to reverse it, but nothing she read said anything about the dragonifying (she thought the word suited the situation) or about dragons as a matter of fact. She still had her doubts, but if Natsu says they exist, she'll believe him.

Overall, Natsu wounds healed nicely and he managed to walk around the room with little help (considering his legs), but he still didn't tell her how he received them.

Shelly, after several visits to bring food and bandages, started warming up to the boys. She even had a long discussion with Happy about different types of fish and if they're better cooked or fresh. Lucy was chuckling at the slightly heated argument and Natsu simply slept.

The monster in the forest was not yet captured so her father hired a mage (Lucy rolled her eyes at the irony), but she simply bribed him a little from her saving and he sat outside her room even when she wasn't there. She told that to Natsu and he bristled a bit at the fact that the mage wasn't doing his job until Lucy whacked him at the head and told him that she wouldn't be coming if it wasn't for his laziness. Natsu frowned but didn't comment about that again.

"Princess," Shelly said to Lucy during the second week the boys had been in the room. "Your father informed the servants that the bounty hunters looking for the monster are coming this afternoon to report to him."

"You think they got rid of it?" Lucy's heart leapt in hope for freedom. Shelly shrugged, but smiled. "I don't know but I really hope so. The princess shouldn't be this confined."

"Thank you, Shelly."

"If I may, princess," The maid fiddled with her fingers. "I feel that ever since Natsu and Happy came, that you've been… happier. I'm really glad for you but I started feeling that perhaps… you should not be here… I'm sorry!" She slapped her hands over her mouth in horror, looking with wide eyes at the girl. "I'm so sorry, princess! I don't know what came over me. Forgive me!"

"It's okay, Shelly," Lucy smiled in sadness. "I think that you're right. I… do not wish to be a part of this pretentious life. I want to be free, work and go on adventures with friends."

"Like Natsu?" Lucy nodded and Shelly smiled. "I hope that one day you'll be able to do that." The maid went to get the dress for Lucy, leaving her to daydream about her life outside.

* * *

Noon came and Lucy was presented to the bounty hunters. She immediately disliked those men. First, they seemed hungry for more money and fame. Secondly, she noticed their lewd looks at her even though she's underage. And lastly, they had nothing of Natsu's sweet mannerism – they gave an arrogant aura and didn't respect her father from the laughter they stifled the minute Jude Heartfilia turned his back. She honestly couldn't care less about royal etiquette, but those hunters could show the minimum of respect to another human being. She would never understand why her father recruited them.

"Princess," Shelly came to her with a glass of water. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thank you, Shelly," Lucy drank the water gratefully. Suddenly, one of the hunters pushed Shelly aside and hovered over the blonde with a strange calculating look. "What is it?" She asked nervously. The man's eyes focused on her and his lips stretched to a wide grin.

"Well, well, well," He taunted her. "It seems like someone is hiding some important info."

"What do you mean?" She backed away from him, but he simply followed her steps. "Don't play dumb, blondie. You reek of the monster's magic." Lucy's heart leapt into her throat. Reek from its magic? Could it be that the monster had been in the forest when she escaped? Now she was the one needing information. "Well… how does the monster look?"

The hunter seemed amused. "Fine, I'll play with you. It is disguised as a human but is rumored to be covered with scales that are red as blood from his many kills and pinkish red hair with pitch black eyes that suck out your soul," He said with a creepy voice, laughing at the end. Lucy's blood ran cold.

_Red scales, pinkish red hair and black eyes…_ no way… Natsu?!

She collected herself and smiled innocently. "I never saw a monster or a person with that description. But I'm sure that you'll catch him soon enough."

"Him?" The creepy grin grew and Lucy wanted to punch herself but kept the innocence act. "Isn't every monster a male?"

"Don't act cute, blondie," The man inched closer to her. "I may not seem like it, but I'm the strongest and only mage in out superb bounty hunters' group. I'm the one to detect traps and auras. I felt that monster's magic all across Magnolia and across the land into your little forest and now you reek of it. So unless you're the monster itself, which I doubt, I want to know where it is."

"So you haven't found h-it yet?" The wall by her head cracked when man punched it, his eyes ablaze. The guards rushed to them but stopped when the man stepped back and rushed out of the doors and turned to the direction of the secret room.

_Natsu!_She thought as she gave chase, throwing her shoes off and running the fastest her legs let her. They reached the abandoned hall and Lucy gathered her breath and called the man to stop but he kept running, eyes only on his target. They stopped in front of the hidden door and Lucy regained her breath and tried to laugh. "See? There's nothing there. Can you please get out?"

"It's here, alright," The man smirked at the wall. "Your pretty head would be soon mine." Lucy shivered. He wanted more than just money?! That greedy monster! She moved to take out one of her celestial keys when the man let out a triumphed cheer and pressed his hand on the wall and mumbled '**Greed break!**' and the wall crumbled to reveal the stairs that led to the room.

"Lucy?" "Happy, no!" Lucy called the minute the blue cat peeked his head out of the entrance. The hunter pushed the blonde aside and raised his hand '**Greed rope!**' A green rope shot from his palm and wrapped itself around the cat. Happy cried and right away Natsu cut the rope with a knife and caught the cat.

"Natsu!" The mage looked up in alarm and barely avoided another rope. He stood back up and glared at the hunter. "Who are you?"

"So you're the rumored monster?" The man sized up the boy. "Kind of expected something scarier." Natsu growled and placed Happy on the couch and lit both his hands and legs on fire. Lucy and the hunter were shocked and Natsu smirked at that and charged at the hunter. The man evaded and took out a sword and swung it at the mage. Natsu caught the sword with his bare hands and melted it easily, throwing it to the side. The hunter shrieked and sent another rope only to have it burnt by a fire coming from Natsu's mouth. Lucy was in awe at the one-sided fight on the stairs but couldn't help but think that it would destroy the entire hall at this rate.

"Tell me, monster," The hunter stopped, his breath haggard and his body decorated with many burns. Natsu paused as well and looked at him. "How can you move with those freakish legs?"

Natsu snarled at that. "I _live_ with those _legs_." And then a tear was heard and Lucy had a moment to ponder about the source before a shriek echoed throughout the hall and house. Natsu fell to the floor, writhing in pain as two bulges seemed to grow from his back. The hunter took this chance and shot the rope again only for it to evaporate upon contact with the mage's skin. The hunter blanched and stepped back when Natsu looked up. The boy's eyes were blood red with slit pupils that were filled with rage. The scales covered everything and his body started to shift, snapping sounds were heard as heat radiated from the boy in waves, hitting Lucy in the face. She looked at the tail rising only for it to move to Happy and curl around him, sending the feline into Lucy's arms. The girl caught the cat and looked in terror at the transformation. She needs to get Natsu out. She looked around and her eyes fixated on the wall behind him. She could break a hole in the wall. She took out a golden key and shouted "Open the gate to the golden bull! Taurus!"

"Mooooo!" A big humanoid cow with an axe appeared. He looked at Lucy with hearts for eyes. "Lucy's boooody looks nice today as well!"

Vein popped in her temple, the pervert! "Not now, Taurus! I need you to break the wall behind Natsu and get him outside!"

"Anything for Lucy!" Taurus jumped from the stairs, Natsu thankfully letting him pass, and swung his axe on the wall, bringing the whole wall down. Then the spirit turned to the boy and charged at him. Natsu snarled and charged back. Taurus, the idiot, swung his axe at the boy but got promptly KO'ed and disappeared.

"**Weak!**" Lucy exclaimed, but at least her goal was met – Natsu was out of the house. She rushed down, ignoring the hunter's call, and crouched by Natsu. The heat was almost too intense for her but she bore it so she could be near him. "Natsu," She said softly. "Please stay with me. Don't let the dragon win."

"_Lu…cy…_" Natsu looked at her, his red eyes flickering to black and back to red.

"That's it! Keep fighting it!" Lucy smiled wetly. "You threw Happy at me so you wouldn't hurt him, right?" He nodded weakly. She nodded with him and placed her hands on his cheeks. It felt like touching burning coals, but she didn't let go. Natsu struggled but she held tighter and forced him to look at her. Then she smiled reassuringly at him. The red eyes grew wide and tears fell from them, evaporating upon touching his skin. Then suddenly another tearing noise was heard and an inhuman shriek came from Natsu as the bulges on his back erupted and two enormous bat-like wings sprouted and stretched over them. They were dark red, but Lucy didn't know if it was from the blood or not. Natsu's temperature rose even higher and Lucy had to retract her hands, noticing the smoke coming from them. She clutched it to her chest in pain and looked at the forming dragon before her eyes.

Slowly the human appendixes twisted to lizard-like claws and limbs, the face to a big lizard long face and teeth to fangs. The body then grew bigger until it was the size of a two level house. The fully transformed dragon threw his head back and let out an ear-splitting roar. Everyone in the mansion covered their ears, most even fainted. Lucy was on the floor, blood dripping from her earlobes and her head was ringing. Happy was still unconscious next to her and the hunter was stumbling away, cursing.

Natsu roared again and this time fire came from the dragon's mouth, burning the tree next to it. Lucy felt tears fall from her eyes, they were doomed. Natsu is out of control and nothing can stop him. She's going to die.

_Help…_ her eyes shot open. Who was that?

_Lucy… I don't want to hurt anyone… stop me…_ wait, is that Natsu? Lucy's eyes narrowed in determination and she shakily stood up. Natsu is fire, so she needs water to cool him off. Water, water… Aquarius! But she needs water… in the room! She turned to the broken wall when Natsu stomped, creating a small earthquake, sending Lucy to the floor. She spat blood and started crawling to the wall, ignoring the pain from her hands and body. Natsu is in pain and he's begging her to help him! Since when the mighty Salamander of Fairy Tail begs? Please let her be on time. She spotted a half empty bottle and snatched it, opening the lid and sticking another golden key in it. "Open the gate to the water bearer! Aquarius!" A blue haired mermaid sprung from the bottle with a pissed look. She snarled at the blonde, "Look, kiddo, I told you not to summon me from—"

"_**Not now!**_" Lucy shouted for the second time. The mermaid noticed the tone and turned around to see the dragon crushing a tree down to bits. Aquarius ch'ed and turned again to Lucy. "You owe me," She grumbled and raised her vase, water collecting in it. Then she yelled 'URYAAAA!' and sent all the water at the dragon. Natsu roared, steam rising from the scales.

"Again!" Lucy commanded and Aquarius repeated her attack. The ground shook as the dragon stomped on the ground, pained roars echoing around the land.

After many attacks, the dragon finally stopped moving and collapsed on the ground. Aquarius lowered her vase and disappeared, leaving an exhausted celestial mage behind. The girl eyed the dragon and crawled to it, face in pain but hopeful. "Natsu… did you calm down?" Pained red eyes fixated themselves onto her brown eyes until the red darkened to black and the thirst for blood dissipated, leaving familiar eyes behind. Lucy smiled and placed a hand on one of the claws. "I'm so glad," She murmured and blacked out. _Thank you, Lucy…_ was the last thing she heard.

* * *

When Lucy came to, she found herself in her bed. Surprised, she rubbed her eyes only to shout in pain and remove them to see her burned hands wrapped in bandages. A bad stench of alcohol hanged in the air and Lucy wrinkled her nose. What happened after she blacked out? What about Natsu… Natsu! She threw the covers off and stood up only to collapse on the carpeted floor. Her legs burned and she bit back tears and shifted so was sitting on the carpet. She took a deep breath, she needs to find Natsu and Happy and get them out before the hunters would do something to them.

"Princess?" An unfamiliar voice alerted her to the newly opened door. The voice belonged to a woman in her mid-twenties with shoulder-length dark blond curls framing her thin pale face. She wore the garbs Shelly would usually wear and her green eyes were cast down in obedience.

"Who are you?" She asked hesitantly. The woman curtsied. "My name is Camellia and I am to be your new personal maid."

"Personal maid? What about Shelly?" Camellia fished out a letter from her apron and gave it to her. Lucy took the letter and opened it curiously.

_"Dear Princess Lucy._

_I'm sorry to not be able to serve you when you wake up since the master threw me out for helping you take care of Natsu and Happy. I told him that it was my entire fault so he won't hurt you. Natsu took Happy and disappeared shortly after bringing you to me._

_I am so grateful to have been granted this opportunity to serve you. I hope that one day you'll be able to be free and go on adventures. Be strong._

_Sincerely,_

_Shelly."_

Tears fell from Lucy's eyes as she clutched the letter tightly. She had lost her best friend and her friends had disappeared. She was alone and trapped and unloved. She felt Camellia embrace her and she let her tears flow, a sense of déjà vu returning her to the first day when Natsu had embraced her like this as well. After emptying her eyes she had reached a decision – she will not stay in this horrible house anymore. She's going to work and with her savings search for Natsu and Happy. It was time for her to grow up. She asked Camellia to place her by the window, then thanked and dismissed her. After the maid left, Lucy looked at the burned backyard and smiled in triumph – her father would never have any control over her anymore.

She will be free!

* * *

_A year later_

Sixteen years old Lucy stood before her father in his office, proud and with a goal in her mind.

"Father, I have reached a decision." Jude Heartfilia didn't answer, not acknowledging his daughter. "I'm leaving." Only now her father had finally turned to her. "You will not. Your job is to marry off and bring an heir to the Heartfilia's fortune. Now go back to your room and stop this nonsense."

"**I will not!**" Lucy took her blouse and ripped it. "I do not wish to be a puppet to you and your plans. What I want isn't money, pretty dresses, or fortune forced upon me. From now on I'm not Lucky Lucy Heratfilia anymore, only Lucy. I waited an eternity for this moment and I won't let you stop me. You took away my friends away and now you've lost me as well." She took a deep breath and continued calmly. "The only reason I stayed was because of the memories I had of mother, and because I had Shelly and everyone else which made it difficult to part with." She smiled. "But, if mother was still alive I know she would tell me to follow my heart, and my heart wants freedom." She turned her back to him with finality, "Farewell, father."

"Return this instant, Lucy Heartfilia!" Jude bellowed, but the girl was already out of sight.

* * *

Lucy raced to her room and threw the ruined dress off, grabbing clothes she had prepared and snatched a big bag she had also prepared for this moment.

Camellia stood by the stables where a brown horse was waiting for her. "Are you sure?" She asked with concern. Even though Camellia was not Shelly, she was very nice and Lucy liked her very much, but she was sure. She has to do this. "I must," She answered and the maid smiled and gave her a blue ribbon. Lucy looked at her in confusion. "It's from Shelly and me. To remember us. Good luck, princess."

"Thank you, Camellia," Lucy was touched. Camellia fastened the saddle and stepped back. "It was my pleasure to work for you. Now go," She watched as the horse carries the girl away from her prison. "You're finally free, princess," The maid shimmered and turned to a very familiar brunette. Shelly crossed her hands over her chest in prayer, tears falling as she mourned the loss of her dearest friend. She had changed her appearance so she could deceive the master and return to the princess' side. She took out a lacrima and mumbled something into it before returning it to her apron and walking away, her job done.

* * *

Lucy rode to the forest, where she first met Natsu and Happy, eager to finally search for her lost friends. When she reached the first row of trees, she dismounted from the horse and slowly trekked into the woods. It was the middle of the day so she could see what was in front of her unlike last time. She smiled at the memory of falling into the pit (and on Natsu) and meeting the boys. The week and a half that she spent with them was something she would always hold dear to her.

She had matured a lot since then; her hair was longer, she was taller and filled nicely but her hands were scarred forever from the fire. She also learned to be rebellious and stand up for herself and be independent. Her magical energy grew and she learned to fight with a whip. She was deeply in thought when a tree creaked and snapped her back to reality. She tensed and her hand closed over the handle of the whip.

"You know, if you had walked a little bit more, you would have fallen into the same hole." A very familiar voice came from the same tree and Lucy turned around to see the salmon-haired mage. Her eyes widened and her hand clasped over her mouth in shock. "Natsu?!" The teen grinned widely and waved. "Hi, Lucy."

"But how? You turned into a dragon!" Lucy hesitantly approached him and placed a hand on his cheek. "Are you real?" Natsu laughed and scratched his nape, "Well, I did turn to a dragon and I am real." He pointed to a white with pattern of scales scarf Lucy just noticed he wore. "I dropped this when I was banished, but gramps took care of it and installed some transformation spells into it. So as long as I wear this, I'll be human." Lucy fingered the scarf and suddenly two warm arms circled around her and pulled her into an embrace. She smiled and closed her eyes, "I'm so glad."

"You _li-i-i-i-i-i-i-ke_ him!" Lucy turned to glare at the blue cat, who was sniggering while munching on a fish. Natsu chuckled, "He missed you a lot. He complained and asked me all the time when can we see you again." Lucy smirked at the cat, but then blinked and stepped back from Natsu. "Were you here this entire time?" Natsu shook his head in puzzlement. "Then how did you know I was going to come today?"

"Shelly told us?" Natsu raised an eyebrow. Happy sniggered. "Lucy is weird." Said girl bristled, "I'm not weird! Shelly was thrown out by father!"

"But she got a transformation spell like Natsu," Happy giggled. "She said that her name is Camellia now." Lucy gasped in shock and looked back to the direction of the mansion; Camellia was Shelly this entire time?! Why didn't she tell her, then?

"She didn't want you to feel obligated to stay," Natsu answered her silent question. Lucy looked at him and he grinned widely, extending his hand to her. "Would you like to go on an adventure?" Lucy's face brightened up and she took the extended hand. "You don't even need to ask."

The trees shook violently as an enormous red dragon shot from their tops, Lucy clutching onto the horns as she saw the horse gallop back to the mansion. Happy sat on the bag which was positioned between her arms and stomach, munching on the fish. Natsu flapped his wings and they went even higher, the wind hitting her face.

The sun was shining brightly, the trees rustled and one girl's heart danced in pure joy and excitement.

Lucy was finally free!

END!


End file.
